


Home is whenever I'm with you

by shadowx_mac



Series: New Life AU [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Diego and Eudora have a daughter, Diego is a mess, No Lila sorry, No past time jump, No second apocalypse they stopped it the first time, Past Child Abuse, Protective Siblings, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Umbrella Academy AU, but he loves his daughter so much, soft sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowx_mac/pseuds/shadowx_mac
Summary: Diego has a mental breakdown after not being able to get his daughter to stop crying, it’s then that his baby shows him that she doesn’t want anything but her dad to just hold and rock her. Maybe he’s not such a horrible dad after allMore emotional comfort for everyone because I definitely need thisAlso I might be making a series in this AU
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch
Series: New Life AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021582
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Home is whenever I'm with you

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so I came up with a umbrella academy Au I will most likely be making into a series. So here it the first to start it off. More emotional comfort for everyone because I need it and also I live for soft dad Diego.

It was pretty late into the night, around 11:30 PM to be more exact. The dim lamp with a bulb that desperately needed to be replaced sat illuminating the cozy living that belonged to the second Hargreeve, his wife, and their new infant daughter who had been born a little over a couple months ago. 

Ever since they had reset the timeline after the little apocalypse incident in the theater, it seems the Hargreeves kids had gotten a second chance to grow up and experience life. None of them had been super excited about being children and growing up in that environment again but with the promise that they could try to set things right and grow up in a way that they wanted, was a chance they needed to take. They could do this how they wanted, make better lives for themselves,and keep Ben alive. Yes, it messed up the way time worked significantly and there would definitely be consequences for this, as Five had explained to them anything changed in the timeline down to the smallest of details would be substituted later for something, which they couldn’t control. However even with this revelation, the Hargreeve siblings had already severely fucked up the timeline anyways, and at this point Five was too exhausted in his efforts to care much anymore, which REALLY said something. 

So began their new lives

Diego had ended up staying in the police force, managing to keep himself in good graces with decent behavior, and was now an actual cop. The badge and everything, shocker, he was no longer busting criminal’s asses illegally. He got to marry the woman of his dreams, which was all Diego could have ever hoped for. 

Then when Eudora Hargreeves revealed she was pregnant two years after they had been married the news had practically sent shock waves through the Hargreeves siblings little community. Everyone was so excited to have another little human running around that they could spoil the hell out of. They had already done so and continued to do so efficiently when Allison had Claire again, after all they were making up for lost uncle and aunt time that they sucked at the first time around, so the boys and Vanya made sure that they had basically given their niece whatever she desired. This came with protest from Allison, especially after Klaus and Ben had gone overboard and purchased her, maybe the biggest bear Diego had ever seen in his whole life. The damn thing might as well have been Luther sized. Diego had decided at that point to continue to spoil his niece in secret much like the other Hargreeve siblings had. 

So Allison was a little relieved when she found out there was going to be another kid to gift the world too, Diego on the other hand though he was excited with the news was terrified of becoming a father. He was a guy who grew up with many many MANY issues, most of them due to their horrid father who’s A+ parenting gave him extensive trust issues, insecurities, and overall intense anger and processing problems that often days left him so frustrated he would shake with pent up emotions he didn’t know what to do with. Eudora would end up being the one to sit with him and work through it no matter how long it took because she understood him, bless that woman, how she was so patient or was able to tolerate being around him for longer than an hour Diego did not understand. So when Diego found out that he was going to be parenting a child, fear immediately struck him, he did not want to be his father, he wanted to be everything the kid needed. He just needed to not fuck his child up because god he wouldn’t be able to take it if he did. 

Eudora reassured him over and over again he would be an amazing father, so had his siblings surprisingly, they were still new at the whole concept of supporting each other but Diego had been pleasantly surprised at his sibling’s sweet encouraging responses when he had panicked and blurted out his concerns. Even with all of that up until the last minute from when his kid was born he was still nervous.

Oh, but when his kid was born, wow his world just shifted and clicked in a way he couldn’t even begin to express in words.

Clementine Grace Hargreeves was born on a warm fall evening in Manhattan, New York at 11:30. She was 7 pounds, 6 ounces with a head of curly brown locks. Eyes an auburn hazel that reminded Diego briefly of brown sugar. 

The minute he laid eyes on her, she was and was always going to be his everything. He understood now what Allison had meant by saying she would do anything for her daughter, because Diego knew looking down at his daughter that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do or give for her. She was like a missing puzzle piece he didn’t know he needed. He could not believe this little light in a sea of neverending dark was his. 

Eudora had given him such a fond and amused look as he stared down at the little bundle in her arms with such wonder. She said it was one of the first times she had ever seen him truly happy. His siblings had been there to witness it, well Ben kinda had to be, considering he was a nurse and was overseeing the birth. It probably would have been way more awkward if he had not been Diego’s brother, but honestly it was kinda heart warming for Ben to be the one to help deliver his kid. 

After not having his brother for so long, having Ben be the one to help with this moment brought Diego a type of joy he hadn’t really felt before. 

As Ben grinned at him, wrapping Clementine in a little blanket, telling him she was healthy and was perfect, Diego had never felt right where he needed to be in his life. 

Ever since then he’s been trying to navigate parenting the best he could. Of Course it helped that he had not only his wife who was the mother of his child, but his siblings as well, Diego just couldn’t stop himself from still feeling like he had no idea what he was doing. Allison assured him that was a normal thing to feel as a new parent and that over time he would adjust, there were times he still just felt helpless.

Now was one of those times.

Eudora was going to be gone until early into the morning, she had just come off of maternity leave and was trying to get back into the swing of things in the force. Diego was happy to take some days off to help watch their daughter since he knew his wife was excited to get back into detective work. 

Of course it made him a bit nervous though, the idea that something could happen to her without him there to save her scared him. He had already lost Eudora once by not getting there on time, he really didn’t want to lose her again, Diego wasn’t sure he would be able to raise Clementine by himself and didn’t ever want to be put in that position. Clementine needed her mom just as much as Diego needed her. However, he knew he needed to trust Eudora and the squad around them to have eachothers backs. He knew Eudora was more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides his anxieties about her going back to work Diego was having more issues right now with putting his daughter to sleep. 

Wailing echoed through the house, Clementine had been crying for what seemed like years at this point. Diego had tried everything he could think of: Fed her, changed her, burped her. He tried the noise machine, he tried reading to her, even mumbling a tune he fuzzily remembered his mother doing that usually helped him to sleep. 

Diego had already called Allison 8 times that day, and he could tell she was starting to get fed up with it even though she had kept a patient tone with him, so he held back his panicked urge to do it again. He had considered calling Ben for a while because he was also surprisingly amazing with kids, but he was running a long night shift that night and Diego didn’t want to bother him while Ben was on call. He didn’t want to call Eudora in fear she would come home and he would just feel more ashamed of himself that he couldn’t put his daughter to bed. The last advice he had gotten from her was to just lay Clementine in the crib and just let her cry herself hopefully into exhaustion. 

Diego had set her down in her crib which had caused her to wail louder near screaming at this point. He had slid down to the ground outside the crib and painfully listened to her cry, each time just another stab at his heart and his mental patience. He let his head fall into his knees as she mercilessly continued to sob.

He felt like such a horrible horrible parent, what kind of father was he? He couldn’t figure out what she needed, and now he couldn’t even get her to sleep by himself without help. He was going to be a disappointment to her, she deserved so much better of a father then he could be. Who was he kidding, she was probably going to grow up hating him, thinking her dad was just a pathetic man. The notion of the made his stomach churn and tears appear that he couldn’t stop from stinging his eyes. 

Diego just couldn’t take the crying anymore, pushing himself up to his feet and reached down, he scooped his daughter back up into his arms. Laying her head gently into his shoulder, and wrapping his hands securely around her. Clementine’s little hands gripped tightly at his shirt, tears coming down her little rosy cheeks. 

Diego sniffled, shame filling him that he was sitting here crying over the fact that he couldn’t soothe his little girl. His fingers petting gently through her tiny locks, never feeling so lost, he gently sways back and forth. “I’m so sorry...I’m sorry I’m not what you need…” Diego mumbles hoarsely tucking his face into her head. 

Her cries slow a bit to soft whimpers as Diego continues to sway gently. “I’m sorry your dad is such a mess...I never wanted that for you, and all I can hope is that you get your mother’s everything, and if you get anything of mine I hope it comes more from your uncles and your aunts because they are so much more put together then I am. Even your uncle Klaus...which I know sounds questionable…” Diego rambles a bit in a soft whisper. He can’t help but smile faintly at that, he knew if Klaus had heard what he had said he would be making a fuss. 

“I know you have a really weird family, and I can’t promise you you’re going to be happy to be around us all the time...I’m sure once or twice you’ll wish you had something different, and I couldn’t blame you for that, I felt that way too when I was a kid...but your grandfather was also a bastard- don’t tell your mother I said that.” Diego adds very quickly a reflexive cringe coming to his face after the first time he had accidentally cussed in front of Clementine, he had ended up sleeping on the couch, Eudora was furious. “What I can promise you is that no matter what your weird aunts and uncles do that they love you...They have odd ways of showing it sometimes, but they do. Your Uncle Five might never ever admit it to you but he absolutely adores you the most...if you're going to swindle cash out of anyone though do it to Vanya or Ben, they have no capability to say no, your cousin Claire knows that very well. I’m sure she’ll teach you all the tricks.” Diego chuckles softly at that. 

He continues to ramble on not even noticing that the crying has stopped, too absorbed in his words to be paying attention. 

“Your Aunt Allison will take you shopping because lord knows I will have no idea what is nice, I’m sure your Uncle Klaus will come too. He’ll paint your nails and will be the one to play dress up with you and dance around the place just because he thinks it’s fun, and won’t care when you use him as a model for when you inevitably get into your mom’s makeup...I’m sure I’ll be the one that gets crap for that though, and will end up buying her back the makeup too. My wallet will be empty but something else you need to know is whatever your mom says goes..but I’m sure that will be tested.” Diego can already feel the future headaches from the mother daughter battles he will probably end up stuck in the middle of. 

“Your Uncle Luther is a mess, but chances are he will give you piggy back rides anywhere that you ask. As long as you give him hugs in return and call him your favorite, even though I have a odd feeling that your Uncle Five will end up being your favorite. Ask him for help with your homework because I could never do fractions, and I’ll never remember what PEMDAS stands for.” 

Small cooing noises drift into the air when Diego finally looks down, seeming to finally realize that Clementine has long stopped crying and is sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Diego feels his eyes get watery again and wow he’s such a dad, blinking in slight surprise that he managed to do this. As her fingers squeeze gently at his shirt it settles in for Diego that all Clementine really needed was for him to be there and hold her. His heart squeezes as he holds her closer to him, continuing his sway.

He couldn’t promise her that he would be the best dad in the world, he couldn’t give her castles to live in, or riches. Diego could be there though, and would, no matter what the situation. He was going to be there for her.

At the end of the day that’s all she really needed.

And at the end of the night when Eudora came home and found Diego asleep on the couch holding Clementine in his grasp while she also slept, she knew that if their daughter had any bit of compassion in her heart like her father did. 

Then that would truly be something to celebrate.


End file.
